(On the 11th March 1930, the crowd swelled to 10,000 at the evening prayer held on the
Sabarmati sands at the Ahmedabad. At the end, Gandhiji delivered a memorable
speech on the eve of his historic March :)
In all probability this will be my last speech to you. Even if the Government allow me
to march tomorrow morning, this will be my last speech on the sacred banks of
the Sabarmati. Possibly these may be the last words of my life here.
I have already told you yesterday what I had to say. Today I shall confine myself to
what you should do after my companions and I are arrested. The programme of the
march to Jalalpur must be fulfilled as originally settled. The enlistment of the
volunteers for this purpose should be confined to Gujarat only. From what I have
seen and heard during the last fortnight. I am inclined to believe that the
stream of civil resisters will flow unbroken.
But let there be not a semblance of breach of peace even after all of us have been
arrested. We have resolved to utilize all our resources in the pursuit of an
exclusively non-violent struggle. Let no one commit a wrong in anger. This is my
hope and prayer. I wish these words of mine reached every nook and corner of the
land. My task shall be done if I perish and so do my comrades. It will then be
for the Working Committee of the Congress to show you the way and it will be up
to you to follow its lead. So long as I have not reached Jalalpur, let nothing
be done in contravention to the authority vested in me by the Congress. But once
I am arrested, the whole responsibility shifts to the Congress. No one
who believes in non-violence, as a creed, need, therefore, sit still. My compact
with the Congress ends as soon as I am arrested. In that case there should be no
slackness in the enrolment of volunteers. Wherever possible, civil disobedience
of salt laws should be started. These laws can be violated in three ways. It is
an offence to manufacture salt whenever there are facilities for doing so. The
possession and sale of contraband salt, which includes natural salt or salt
earth is also an offence. The purchase of such salt will be equally guilty. To
carry away the natural salt deposits on the seashore is like wise violation of
law. So is the hawking of such salt. In short, you may choose and one or all of
these devices to break the salt monopoly.
We are, however, not to be content with this alone. There is no ban by the Congress and
whether the local workers have self-confidence other suitable measures may be
adopted. I stress only one condition, namely, let our pledge of truth and
non-violence as the only means for the attainment of Swaraj be faithfully
kept. For the rest, every one has a free hand. But, that does not give a license
to all and sundry to carry on their own responsibility. Wherever there are local
leaders, their orders should be obeyed by the people. Where there are no leaders
and only a handful of men have faith in the programme, they may do what they
can, if they have enough self-confidence. They have a right, may it is their
duty, to do so. The history of the world is full of instances of men who rose to
leadership, by sheer force of self-confidence, bravery and tenacity. We too, if
we sincerely aspire to Swaraj and are impatient to attain it, should have
similar self-confidence. Our ranks will swell and our hearts strengthen, as the
number of our arrests by the Government increases.
Much can be done in many other ways besides these. The Liquor and foreign cloth shops can
be picketed. We can refuse to pay taxes if we have the requisite strength. The
lawyers can give up practice. The public can boycott the law courts by
refraining from litigation. Government servants can resign their posts. In the
midst of the despair reigning all round people quake with fear of losing
employment. Such men are unfit for Swaraj. But why this despair? The
number of Government servants in the country does not exceed a few hundred
thousand. What about the rest? Where are they to go? Even free India will not be
able to accommodate a greater number of public servants. A Collector then will
not need the number of servants, he has got today. He will be his own servant.
Our starving millions can by no means afford this enormous expenditure. If,
therefore, we are sensible enough, let us bid good-bye to Government employment,
no matter if it is the post of a judge or a peon. Let all who are co-operating
with the Government in one way or another, be it by paying taxes, keeping
titles, or sending children to official schools, etc. withdraw their
co-operation in all or as many ways as possible. Then there are women who can
stand shoulder to shoulder with men in this struggle.
You may take it as my will. It was the message that I desired to impart to you before
starting on the march or for the jail. I wish that there should be no suspension
or abandonment of the war that commences tomorrow morning or earlier, if I am
arrested before that time. I shall eagerly await the news that ten batches are
ready as soon as my batch is arrested. I believe there are men in India to
complete the work begun by me. I have faith in the righteousness of our cause
and the purity of our weapons. And where the means are clean, there God is
undoubtedly present with His blessings. And where these three combine, there
defeat is impossibility. A Satyagrahi, whether free or incarcerated, is
ever victorious. He is vanquished only, when he forsakes truth and non-violence
and turns a deaf ear to the inner voice. If, therefore, there is such a thing as
defeat for even a Satyagrahi, he alone in the cause of it. God bless you
all and keep off all obstacles from the path in the struggle that begins
tomorrow.